Submandibular Gland Tumors Research Articles

The oncofetal protein IMP3 is an indicator of early recurrence and poor outcome in mucoepidermoid carcinoma of salivary glands.

Objective: Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is the most common primary malignancy of the salivary glands. Insulin-like growth factor-II mRNA-binding protein-3 (IMP3) is an important prognostic factor in some cancers and a tool that differentiates between benign and malignant pancreatic lesions. This study aimed to identify a relationship between the expression of IMP3 and the outcome of salivary gland MEC, as well as to differentiate MEC from pleomorphic adenoma (PA). Methods:Tissue specimens from 70 cases of salivary gland MEC, 40 cases of PA, and 10 cases with normal salivary gland were examined immunohistochemically for IMP3. The association among the expression of IMP3, clinicopathological characteristics and patient's survival was assessed. Results:IMP3 was present in 51.4% of MEC but absent in PA and normal salivary gland tissues. IMP3 expression was associated with age > 60 years, submandibular gland tumors, tumor size > 4 cm, high-grade tumors, lymph node metastasis, involvement of surgical margins, perineural invasion, distant metastasis, advanced TNM stage, tumor relapse, and death ( P<0.05). Increased expression of IMP3, tumors of the submandibular gland, and lymph node metastasis were independent prognostic factors of -free survival (DFS). In addition, IMP3 was a strong predictor of overall survival (OS) together with distant metastasis and intermediate and high-grade tumors. Conclusions:IMP3 expression is highly important in evaluating the outcome of MEC. IMP3 can be used to differentiate MEC from PA of salivary glands.

Surgery for Malignant Submandibular Gland Neoplasms.

For many decades, surgery has been the primary treatment for malignant submandibular gland neoplasms. Nonetheless, due to the heterogeneity and rarity of submandibular gland malignant tumors and the high frequency of chronic benign processes in this region, management can be complex. Preoperative investigations, such as fine-needle aspiration and imaging, are critical to achieve the correct diagnosis so that appropriate surgery can be planned. In general, for malignant submandibular gland neoplasms, the minimal treatment necessary is excision of the submandibular gland with level I lymph node dissection. Salivary gland cancer in the submandibular gland is generally more aggressive than the same histologic type in the parotid gland. Neck dissection may be required and primarily depends on the stage and histological grade. Adjuvant therapy most frequently consists of radiation and can improve overall survival. Some factors that influence prognosis after surgical treatment include the histologic grade, stage at presentation, and positive surgical margins.

Potential role for inhibition of protein phosphatase 2A tumor suppressor in salivary gland malignancies.

The aetiology and pathogenesis of salivary gland malignancies remain unknown. To reveal novel molecular factors behind the development of salivary gland cancer, we performed gene expression analyses from Smgb-Tag mouse salivary gland samples. The overall purpose was to apply these results for clinical use to find new approaches for both possible therapeutic targets and more accurate diagnostic tools. Smgb-Tag mouse strain, in which salivary neoplasms arise through a dysplastic phase in submandibular glands, was investigated using genome-wide microarray expression analysis, ingenuity pathway analysis, RT-PCR, and immunohistochemistry. Thirty-eight human salivary gland adenoid cystic carcinoma samples were investigated using immunohistochemistry for validation purposes. Our genome-wide study showed that Ppp2r1b, a PP2A subunit encoding tumor suppressor gene, is underexpressed in submandibular gland tumors of Smgb-Tag mice. mTOR signaling pathway was significantly enriched and mTOR linked PP2A subunit gene B55 gamma was significantly underexpressed in the analyses. Furthermore, parallel immunohistochemical analysis of three PP2A inhibitors demonstrated that two PP2A inhibitors, CIP2A and SET, are highly expressed in both dysplastic and adenocarcinomatous tumors of the Smgb-Tag mice. In addition, all 38 investigated human salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma samples stained positively for CIP2A and most for SET. Finally, p-S6 staining showed activation of mTOR pathway in human adenoid cystic carcinoma samples. Our results suggest that PP2A inhibition either via PP2A subunit underexpression or PP2A inhibitor overexpression play an important role in the formation of salivary gland malignancy, potentially due to mTOR signaling activation.

Successful Treatment of a Case of First Bite Syndrome without Any Cause

Background: For the first bite syndrome (FBS), various causes were suggested such as parapharyngeal space surgery, resection of styloid process, carotid endarterectomy, parotid gland tumor, submandibular gland tumor, and upper cervical surgery. Actually, the real cause of FBS is still not clear. Also, suggested methods of treatment for the FBS are botulinum toxin injection, laser tympanic plexus ablation, pharmacologic approach, and no treatment. The results of those treatments were not satisfactory. Aim: The authors tried to find out the adequate method of treatment for the FBS and also tried to figure out pathologic cause of the FBS through observation of the patient response to the treatment. Case Presentation: A 38-year-old male was presented at head and neck surgery clinic with a sharp pain on the left parotid area especially at the first bite of eating food for two days. There was no cause. The patient was given trigger point injections on his left sternocleidomastoid, masseter, and temporal muscles with left mandibular nerve block five times 3 - 4 days apart. Also small amount of oral anticonvulsants were added for four weeks. Before finishing taking oral medication, the pain was gone completely. Conclusion: The authors experienced a case of FBS with no detectable cause, and treated successfully with the methods of trigger point injection, mandibular nerve block, and oral antiepileptic medication.

Extradural Spinal Metastasis of Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma (ACC): A Case Report.

Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is a rare malignant tumour of the major salivary glands. It accounts for 10-15% of all salivary gland tumours and 1% of all head and neck tumours. Surgical resection followed by radiation is the choice of treatment for ACC. However, late loco-regional recurrence and metastasis is often seen emphasizing the importance of long-term follow-up. We report an unusual case of extradural metastasis of ACC in the dorsal spine. The primary submandibular gland tumour was resected 11 y back. A recurrence had been detected two years prior to the occurrence of spinal metastasis. Surgical decompression was done which was followed by palliative radiotherapy. Patient is symptomatically better, ambulant and on regular follow-up.

Preservation of the Facial Artery during Submandibular Gland Resection: Preoperative Sonographic Assessment of Facial Artery

Received March 3, 2015 Revised April 17, 2015 Accepted May 1, 2015 Address for correspondence Dong Jin Lee, MD, PhD Department of OtorhinolaryngologyHead and Neck Surgery, Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, 1 Singil-ro, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul 150-950, Korea Tel +82-2-829-5216 Fax +82-2-842-5217 E-mail djlee@hallym.or.kr Background and ObjectivesZZThe traditional surgical method for submandibular gland resection includes ligation of facial artery. In this study, we used ultrasound preoperatively and tried to preserve the facial artery if facial artery passed on an extra-glandular course with a glandular branch. Subjects and MethodZZPatients undergoing submandibular gland resection either because of submandibular gland tumor or submandibular gland stone were prospectively included. Preoperative sonographic assessment was done to evaluate the intra-glandular or extra-glandular course of facial artery. For the cases with extra-glandular course with a glandular branch of facial artery, we tried to preserve facial artery by ligation of the glandular branch. ResultsZZA total of 34 cases were included in this study. Among them, 6 cases (17%) hadfacial artery passing on an extraglandular course with glandular branching. For these 6 cases, we easily could find the facial artery and glandular branch in the operative field and were able to preserve the facial artery. For the remaining 28 cases, however, the facial artery penetrated through the submandibular gland, thus we opted for the ligation of facial artery rather than preserving it to minimize bleeding or trauma during the surgery. There were no statistic difference between two groups with respect to clinical and surgical variables. ConclusionZZExtra-glandular course of facial artery was easily assessed by preoperative ultrasound. In those cases, we could preserve facial artery easily without bleeding or trauma to the submandibular gland by ligation of glandular branch. As facial artery is animportant vessel for reconstruction and facial rejuvenation, it is preferable to preserve this artery if the course of this artery makes it possible to preserve. Korean J Otorhinolaryngol-Head Neck Surg 2015;58(8):558-62

Gland-preserving robotic surgery for benign submandibular gland tumours: a comparison between robotic and open techniques

Benign tumours of the submandibular gland are usually treated surgically. Gland-preserving techniques, which can be used to completely remove the tumour, preserve the function of the gland and reduce complications, but conventional open operations result in obvious scars on the neck. We aimed to investigate the feasibility and efficacy of gland-preserving robotic surgery using a hairline approach. We compared robotic with open techniques for gland-preserving operations to remove benign tumours of the submandibular gland. Patients were matched for age and sex (4 in each group). All patients in the robotic surgery group had their tumours removed successfully through hairline approaches. No patient had operative complications or postoperative functional nerve deficit, and an aesthetically pleasing outcome was achieved by concealing the scars within the hairline. Robotic operations took longer than open operations. No recurrence was noted during follow-up. Gland-preserving robotic surgery is a feasible alternative to conventional techniques and has potential advantages for safety and aesthetic outcome.

Perioperative Difficulties and Early Postoperative Complications of Transoral Approach in Mouth Base Surgery

The aim of this study was to discuss perioperative difficulties and temporary or permanent complications that can be seen at early postoperative period in cases undergoing transoral surgical approach for disorders of mouth base. The study included 19 patients undergoing transoral surgical approach between September 2011 and January 2013 who were retrospectively evaluated. Exclusion criteria were patients with malign submandibular gland tumor or other suspected tumors at mouth base, those with a benign solid mass larger than 10 × 10 cm, and those who did not accept the transoral approach. Mean age was 28.47 ± 17.89 years (range, 8-76 years) in 19 patients included (9 male and 10 female subjects). Of these, submandibular gland excision was performed in 9 cases, whereas thyroglossal duct cyst excision was performed in 3 (2 transfrenulum approach and 1 lateral lingual approach), lymphangioma excision in 1, diagnostic lymph node excision at the posterior of submandibular gland in 3 cases, and dermoid cyst excision (2 with midline and 1 with left submandibular localization) in 3 cases. Perioperative difficulties included dissection problems due to adhesion, partial adhesion between Wharton canal and lingual nerve, fragmented dissection of the gland, capsule rupture of submandibular adenoma, and facial artery rupture. While visualization of surgical field and retraction of mouth base muscles are an important issue in midline approaches, resection of hyoid bone corpus is challenging in lateral approaches. Early postoperative complications included edema at mouth base, lingual ecchymosis, and postoperative temporary abnormal tongue sensation. Transoral mouth base surgery is a safe approach in selected patients. Permanent injuries of neural structures are rarely encountered, which is considered as a concern by head and neck surgeons. Temporary complications are at a level that can be tolerated by patients.

Comparison of adenoid cystic carcinomas arising from the parotid gland vs. the submandibular gland: focus on systemic metastasis and tumor‐associated blood vessels

Although several studies reported that distant metastasis occurs more frequently in the tumors of submandibular gland (SMG) than parotid gland (PG), why SMG tumors preferentially metastasize to distant organs is not fully understood. We aimed to identify the differential tumor microenvironment for distant metastasis and possible underlying mechanisms. We retrieved 27 cases of 1-4-cm-sized adenoid cystic carcinomas (ACCs) arising from the PG (n = 12) and SMG (n = 15). c-KIT, VEGF-R2, and CD31 staining were quantified by image-based analysis to define the positive expression or tumor-associated vessel areas in two representative sections per case. In addition, angiogenesis-related genomic expression profiling was carried out to explore the underlying mechanism, which was confirmed by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Earlier systemic dissemination within 2 years was detected exclusively in SMG ACCs (5/15). The area of tumor-associated blood vessels was larger in SMG ACCs than PG ACCs, and ACCs showing distant metastasis had greater blood vessel area than those without metastasis. Interestingly, normal SMG had more blood vessels per area than PG. Among angiogenesis-related signals, the level of IL-6 was significantly lower in SMG ACCs than PG ACCs. Moreover, IL-6 expression decreased significantly in SMG ACCs compared with that in normal SMG, whereas it was up-regulated in PG ACCs. ACCs in the SMG microenvironment have more abundant tumor-associated blood vessels than PG ACCs, which may explain the higher risk of distant metastasis from SMG tumors.

Role of fine needle aspiration cytology in the preoperative diagnosis of malignancy in parotid and submandibular gland neoplasm

Objective: To evaluate the role of Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology in the preoperative diagnosis of malignancy in parotid and submandibular gland neoplasm. Methods: This cross sectional study on 50 cases was conducted in the Department of Otolaryngology and Head-Neck Surgery of Sir Salimullah Medical College Mitford Hospital and Dhaka Medical College Hospital from January’2009 to June 2010. Results: Fine needle aspiration cytology findings of our all 50 cases were compared with postoperative histopathological reports. Out of the 50 cases, in 36(72%) cases of benign neoplasm and 7(14%) cases of malignant neoplasm, pre-operative FNAC findings and post operative histopathological findings were same. In 7 cases, FNAC and post operative histopathological findings did not matched. These were 2 (4%) false positive and 5 (10%) false negative result.In our study sensitivity of FNAC for reporting malignancy was 58.33%, specificity to rule out malignancy was 94.73% and overall accuracy in detecting malignant tumour was 86%. Positive predictive value and negative value were 77.77% and 87.80% respectively. It can be concluded that fine needle aspiration cytology is a safe, cheap and useful preoperative diagnostic tool in the diagnosis of malignancy in parotid and submandibular gland, but as fine needle aspiration cytology partly depends on operator skill, it may give false negative and false positive result. Conclusion: FNAC is a useful preoperative diagnostic tool for malignant parotid and submandibular glands with high specificity and sensitivity. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjo.v19i2.17634 Bangladesh J Otorhinolaryngol 2013; 19(2): 110-118

A Study on Submandibular Gland Tumors

The histopathology of submandibular gland tumors is diverse, and in many cases, it is also difficult to make a correct diagnosis preoperatively. A clinical study was performed on 38 cases of submandibular gland tumor surgically resected between 1995 and 2011. There were 33 benign and 5 malignant tumors. The most common benign tumor was pleomorphic adenoma (97.0%). Three of the 5 malignant tumors were low-grade mucoepidermoid carcinomas, and two were adenoid cystic carcinomas. We compared the preoperative diagnosis with final diagnosis. We considered that fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy was very useful for the surgical management of submandibular gland tumor, and in malignant cases, the use of both FNA and frozen section biopsy (FSB) could improve the precision of the preoperative diagnosis. We performed supraomohyoid neck dissection in patients with clinically negative neck metastasis, and total neck dissection in patients with clinically positive neck metastasis. Postoperative radiotherapy was performed in patients with perineural invasion, a narrow safety margin, high-grade malignancy, multiple neck metastasis and extranodal extension. Following extirpation of the submandibular gland and tumor, facial paresis occurred in 8 (27.6%) cases. We compared postoperative complications following the non-identified method with the identified method. Facial paresis occurred in 1 (5.9%) cases following the non-identified method, and occurred in 7 (50.0%) cases following the identified method. Our results suggested that the non-identified method was safer and more useful in preventing postoperative complications following extirpation of the submandibular gland and associated tumors.

Salivary gland tumors: A 20-year review of clinical diagnostic accuracy at a single center

Obtaining reliable pre-operative diagnosis is crucial in planning treatment for patients with salivary gland tumors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of pre-operative clinical diagnosis of salivary gland tumors managed at a single tertiary university hospital over a period of 20 years. A retrospective analysis of the period between 1992 and 2011 was carried out to review the cases of patients with salivary gland tumors. A total of 101 patients were enrolled and general data were described. Clinical diagnosis was compared with the final pathological diagnosis to reveal the clinical diagnostic accuracy. Of the parotid and submandibular gland tumors, 86 and 67% were benign, respectively. The clinical diagnostic accuracies for diagnosis of parotid tumors as benign or malignant were 100 and 57%, respectively. The clinical diagnostic accuracies for diagnosis of submandibular tumors as benign or malignant were 67%. Therefore, the overall clinical judgment of benign and malignant tumors in the submandibular gland is unreliable. The accuracy for a parotid tumor to be clinically interpreted as benign was 100%. While it is difficult to draw any conclusion for non-parotid gland tumors, surgical intervention should be recommended in patients with parotid tumors clinically suspected to be malignant, and all submandibular, sublingual and minor salivary gland tumors.

Submandibular Triangle Masses

The study aims to analyze the demographic data of a large case series operated on because of submandibular triangle mass for more than 10 years and presents a review of the literature. The charts of patients who underwent surgical intervention for submandibular triangle mass between January 2000 and November 2010 were reviewed. The medical history, age, sex, duration of symptoms, clinical presentation, preoperative investigations, and histopathologic diagnosis were reviewed. The study included 66 subjects; 12 patients (18.2%) with submandibular sialolithiasis, 18 patients (27.2%) with sialadenitis, 10 patients with lymphadenitis (15.1%), and 26 patients (39.3%) with tumors. Of the tumors, 23% was malignant and 77% was benign. Benign tumors of submandibular gland comprised 22.7% and malign tumors of submandibular gland comprised 3% of all submandibular mass. The most common benign tumor was pleomorphic adenoma. The most frequent histopathologic diagnoses of submandibular masses originated from the submandibular gland, and these comprised 71.2% of all submandibular mass pathologies. The main symptom was a painless mass. Ultrasonography was the most common preoperative diagnostic procedure. Fine-needle aspiration biopsy was performed in 26 patients. A clear diagnosis could not be provided in 3 (12%) patients. Infectious conditions and benign tumors are more frequent than malign tumors in the submandibular region. The histopathologic diagnoses mainly consisted of submandibular sialadenitis, sialolithiasis, pleomorphic adenoma, and lymphadenitis. Ultrasonography is the first option of radiologic evaluation. Fine-needle aspiration biopsy is a very useful and usually sufficient diagnostic procedure for histopathologic diagnosis. Excisional biopsy can be performed when the fine-needle aspiration biopsy failed.

Major Salivary Gland Tumors: A Clinicopathological Study

Background: Major salivary gland tumors comprise a morphologically diverse group of rare tumors. The tumors also have variations in their clinicopathological profile related to racial and geographic differences. Objective: To find out the frequency of different types of major salivary gland neoplasm. Methodology: This cross sectional study was carried out on 50 patients having major salivary gland tumor in the departments of Otolaryngology of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka Medical College Hospital and Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital from January 2010 to September 2010. Result: In this study, most cases occur in 5th decade. Incidence of malignant and benign parotid neoplasm was found 23.8% and 76.2% respectively. Benign and malignant tumors of submandibular gland were 50% in each group. No sublingual gland neoplasm was found in this group. Conclusion: Parotid gland was the most common site of origin of both benign and malignant tumours. Plemorphic adenoma was the most common benign salivary gland tumour and mucoepidermoid carcinoma was the most frequent malignant neoplasm. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jssmc.v5i1.16250 J Shaheed Suhrawardy Med Coll, 2013;5(1):43-45

Submandibular Triangle Masses

Objectives: Retrospectively analyze patients operated due to submandibular triangle mass over 10 years. Methods: The charts of adult patients who underwent surgical intervention for submandibular triangle mass between January 2000 and November 2010 were reviewed. The medical history, age, sex, duration of symptoms, clinical presentation, preoperative investigations, and histopathologic findings were reviewed. Results: The study included 66 subjects who had a surgical intervention for submandibular triangle mass lesion. There were 12 patients (18.2%) with submandibular gland sialolithiasis, 18 patients (27.2%) with submandibular gland sialadenitis, 10 patients with lymphadenitis (15.1%) and 17 patients (25.7%) with neoplasia. Benign tumors of submandibular gland comprised 22.7% of all submandibular triangle masses, while malign tumors of submandibular gland comprised 3%. The most common benign tumor of submandibular gland was pleomorphic adenoma. The main symptom was a painless mass. The range of symptoms duration time was 3-48 months. Ultrasonography was the most common preoperative diagnostic tool. Fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) was performed in 26 patients with a correct diagnosis rate of 88%. Conclusions: Submandibular gland lesions are the most common masses located in the submandibular triangle. A detailed medical history, physical and endoscopic examinations, radiologic and histopathologic investigations should be performed for differential diagnosis in order to prevent unnecessary surgeries.

Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the submandibular gland: Case report and literature review

Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) of the salivary gland is extremely rare. We report on a case of LCNEC in the submandibular gland. A 58-year-old male had a four-month history of an enlarging mass in his left submandibular region. He underwent lymph node resection and metastasis of LCNEC was suspected. Magnetic resonance imaging of the neck showed a solid submandibular gland tumor with marginal blurring. Positron-emission tomography and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy showed no evidence of malignancy other than in the left submandibular gland. He underwent left submandibular gland resection and left upper neck dissection. The final diagnosis was LCNEC of the submandibular gland; surgical margin was negative. Fourteen months later he is free of tumors. This is the first report of LCNEC of the submandibular gland. LCNEC of the salivary gland shows high-grade malignancy like that of the lung. According to past reports, two of four patients died despite multidisciplinary treatments. There are no standard treatments for LCNEC of the salivary glands. More studies are needed to define prognostic factors and establish therapeutic methods.

Epithelial salivary gland tumors in children: A twenty-five-year experience of 122 patients

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to evaluate our 25-year experience of pediatric salivary tumors. MethodsPatients less than 19 years old with a diagnosis of salivary tumor were identified at Oral-maxillofacial Head and Neck Tumor Center, China Medical University from 1987 to 2011. Results122 patients were included in our study, 105 tumors were benign and 17 were malignant. The most common involved site was parotid gland, pleomorphic adenoma represented 91.4% in benign group, and mucoepidermoid carcinoma represented 47.1% in malignant group. All tumors in submandibular gland were benign. Warthin's tumor was diagnosed in one patient. In our follow-up, no regional recurrences occurred in patients without neck dissection. The 5- and 10-year overall survival rates of patients with malignant salivary tumors were 81.8% and 66.7% respectively. ConclusionsEpithelial salivary tumor was rare, parotid gland was most common involved site, pleomorphic adenoma and mucoepidermoid carcinoma were the most common benign and malignant tumor respectively. The prognosis of patients with malignant salivary tumors was not very favorable.

Conventional MRI findings for predicting submandibular pleomorphic adenoma

Although pleomorphic adenomas account for over 90% of all benign submandibular gland tumors, the imaging features of submandibular pleomorphic adenomas have not been reported in a large number of cases. To assess the conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings for predicting the submandibular pleomorphic adenoma. MR studies of 42 pleomorphic adenomas and 28 other types of tumor were reviewed. MR images were assessed for the presence of hyperintense areas on T2-weighted images (first sign), a well-defined margin (second sign), and presence of crescent-shaped compression of the ipsilateral normal submandibular gland (third sign). For identifying submandibular pleomorphic adenoma, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy were 97.6%, 50.0%, 74.5%, 93.3%, and 78.6% for the first sign, 95.2%, 46.4% 72.7%, 86.7%, and 75.7% for the second sign, and 23.8%, 100%, 86.7%, 46.7%, and 54.3% for the third sign, respectively. Combining the first and second findings achieved to 85.7% specificity and 90.9% accuracy. Although non-specific, submandibular pleomorphic adenomas usually have hyperintense areas on T2-weighted images and well-defined margins. In addition, crescent-shaped compression of the ipsilateral normal gland seems to represent a highly specific sign.

Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma presenting with neck swelling in the submandibular gland: a case report

IntroductionLarge cell neuroendocrine carcinoma in the salivary glands is rare. We report a second case of large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the submandibular gland diagnosed at autopsy, and a review of the literature.Case presentationA 68-year-old Japanese man was referred to our hospital for thorough investigation of swelling on the right side of his neck. Fine-needle aspiration cytology of the cervical mass suggested poorly differentiated metastatic carcinoma. The primary tumor could not be detected by several examinations. One month after admission, he died of cancer. An autopsy was performed, and it revealed a tumor of the right submandibular gland. The histopathological diagnosis was large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the submandibular gland.ConclusionTo the best of our knowledge, only eight cases of large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma in the salivary glands, including our case, have been reported. This report indicates total biopsy and immunohistochemistry are necessary for diagnosing large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma properly.

Gland-preserving surgery can effectively preserve gland function without increased recurrence in treatment of benign submandibular gland tumour

The most widely accepted treatment for neoplasms of the submandibular gland usually involves excision of the entire gland. Our aim was to establish a gland-preserving operation for benign tumours of the submandibular gland and evaluate its efficacy. We treated 40 patients from January 2007 to December 2008 with benign submandibular gland tumours who were listed to have an operation that either preserved the gland or sacrificed it. Duration of operation, extent of injury to the nerve, postoperative function of the gland, aesthetic appearance, and recurrence were assessed. We found no significant difference in baseline characteristics among the 20 patients in each group (19 men; 21 women, mean (SD) age of 34 (33.8±5.72) years. The extent of injury to the lingual nerve and submandibular branch, together with deformities of the facial contour, were significantly less in the group in which the gland was preserved. Postoperative salivary production and overall patients’ satisfaction were also better in that group. There was no recurrence in either group during the follow up period of 38 months–5 years. The gland-preserving procedure has advantages over the typical approach in which the gland is sacrificed. There is less risk of injury to the nerve, less deformity of the facial contour, better preservation of function, and patients are more satisfied. The gland-preserving technique should therefore be the first choice for management of benign submandibular tumours.